Who should be our future PG in the purple and gold, damn I can't choose !

Any of those guys would be great.. Hard to say no to the overall game of Wall or Kyrie but Curry is going to go down as the best 3 point shooter in league history. Would be an amazing fit with Dwight.

i'd 100% be behind steph curry....were it not for that glass ankle of his. i can't help but think at some point in the future, that problem's going to rear its ugly head in a big way

True, but it's a risk you have to take if you can get him & not the others. Especially on that contract GS signed him to. Locked up 4 more years at 10.5 a year. I'll take that over Wall or Kyrie at the Max.

By Thursday (if we make the playoffs), LA needs to send in a 12 man playoff list to league offices. There is no IR for the playoffs.

Just how important is it to get that list just right....recall when the Lakers met the Pistons in the Finals. Ho Grant was Malone's backup in the regular season, but just before the playoffs, he got injured and we didn't put him on the playoff roster. When Malone went down, guess who was next on the depth chart?

You play Curry physical until his ankle gives out... Same way you play Kyrie or Wall at this point.

True, but then... you could say the same thing about Parker, Rose, Rondo, Nash and almost any good point guard (replacing "ankle" with the "knee" or "back" as you see fit), with the exception of Westbrook. That guy does not get hurt.

"It's not realistic to get younger and better when you only have the veteran's minimum to offer free agents."

You play Curry physical until his ankle gives out... Same way you play Kyrie or Wall at this point.

True, but then... you could say the same thing about Parker, Rose, Rondo, Nash and almost any good point guard (replacing "ankle" with the "knee" or "back" as you see fit), with the exception of Westbrook. That guy does not get hurt.

To pair with Dwight? He'd be excellent. I'd also like Rondo actually. Rondo would feed him in the half court, defend well for him on the perimeter, and while he can't shoot a lick, he'd cut and move and still have a positive impact on Dwight's game.

While the 2013 offseason is just around the corner, it’s the summer of 2014 that has NBA decision-makers excited.

Next offseason has the potential to shift the balance of power in the NBA because the draft class and free agent class are loaded with franchise-changing players. Rebuilding teams will have the opportunity to add a star in June while contending teams will be able to bolster their roster in July.

Wiggins has superstar potential and his dominance at the high school level has led some talent evaluators to compare him to LeBron James. Many people in NBA circles believe that Wiggins could start in the NBA today and make a significant impact – he’s that good.

However, Wiggins isn’t the only potential star in the draft class. Parker and Randle have drawn a lot of praise as well and they have tremendous upside too. Gordon and the Harrison twins are expected to be one-and-done and then light up the NBA as well. Throw in the players who decided to return to school such as Smart, McAdoo, Hairston, Poythress and Cauley-Stein – who were all being projected as first-round picks in the 2013 NBA Draft – and the 2014 draft class could be one of the best in recent history.

Bryant, Nowitzki, Granger, Deng, Pierce, Gasol and Bogut will be unrestricted free agents that summer. James, Wade, Anthony, Stoudemire, Bosh, Gay and Randolph have either a player option or early termination option, which means they can opt-out and become unrestricted free agents. Wall, George, Cousins, Favors, Sanders and Monroe will be restricted free agents.

Executives have already started preparing for next offseason. Some rebuilding teams are doing their homework on the top draft prospects. Some contending teams have refused to make any moves that jeopardize their flexibility and cap room for the summer of 2014. Either way, teams understand that there will be a wealth of talent available in the very near future. One Western Conference executive admitted that he has been eyeing the summer of 2014 since last year.

The summer of 2013 should be fun, as NBA offseasons always are. However, it’s nothing compared to what we’ll see in the summer of 2014.

MILWAUKEE — As the Milwaukee Bucks season winds down, it appears Monta Ellis’ days in a Bucks uniform are numbered as well.

At least, that’s the prevailing sentiment of some Ellis acquaintances. They claim Ellis, the Bucks’ potent-scoring guard, has indicated to them that he intends on opting out of his contract after the season and becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Ellis, who has adamantly refused to discuss his future plans, came to the Bucks last March in a major deal with Golden State. In that transaction, the Bucks acquired Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown in exchange for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.

In his short tenure with the Bucks, Ellis’ play has wildly fluctuated. He has exhibited brilliance like in a 10-day stretch from Feb. 27 until March 17 when he scored 26 or more points on seven occasions.

He is also averaging 19.3 points a game. That’s the 11th-highest average in the league. The only shooting guards with higher scoring averages are Kobe Bryant (24.6), James Harden (24.3) and Dwyane Wade (21.2).

But Ellis has also had performances where’s he been awful. In a game against Oklahoma City, he went 3 for 17 from the field. In games against Atlanta and Memphis, he went 2 for 14 and 1 for 14, respectively.

Ellis has shot the ball poorly for most of the season. He’s made 41 percent of his field-goal attempts and is a measly 27 percent from 3-point range. Furthermore, the 27-year-old Ellis has been a turnover machine, committing 3.1 a game. He’s had 17 games where he’s had five turnovers or more.

Yet, Ellis contends he’s among the best at his position in the league. Earlier this season, he favorably compared himself to Wade. But if Ellis expects to command Wade-like money ($18.5 million next season), he’s in for a rude awakening this summer.

In conversations with several general managers, not one said they would pay Ellis more than he’s already receiving. That’s $11 million, which is the same amount he would be paid next season if he opted to remain with the Bucks.

But as one general manager noted, it only takes one team to be enamored with Ellis’ explosive scoring abilities and give him a long-term deal in excess of $11 million per season.

Working in Ellis’ favor is that there are nearly a dozen teams that will have ample salary-cap flexibility this season. At least four of them will be in the market for a shooting guard. Those teams are Atlanta (Ellis’ name was prominently mentioned with the Hawks at the trading deadline), Phoenix, Dallas and Minnesota.

There has also been scuttlebutt Ellis would be quite receptive to signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. Ellis has a home outside of Memphis and spends a considerable amount of time there during the offseason.

But the Grizzlies have one of the NBA’s premier defensive shooting guards in Tony Allen who, while being an UFA this summer, is expected to return to the team. More importantly, the Grizzlies have little wiggle room on the cap as they already have guaranteed contracts totaling $60.5 million for next season.

Suffice to say, how Ellis performs in the upcoming Eastern Conference playoffs against Wade and the Miami Heat could go a long way in determining how much money he’ll earn in the years to come ... likely with a team not called the Bucks.

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks shooting guard O.J. Mayo said he would decline the player option for the second season of his contract, deciding to become a free agent for the second consecutive summer.

Mayo, who could have returned to Dallas for $4.2 million, said he hopes to work out a long-term deal with the Mavs.

"Getting something long term, locking something in is what I think is best for me," Mayo said Thursday after his exit interview with coach Rick Carlisle and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.

Mayo, 25, averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds while playing a team-high 35.5 minutes per game. His production dipped significantly after the All-Star break, when star forward Dirk Nowitzki started to return to form after missing the first 27 games while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Mayo, a five-year veteran and former No. 3 overall pick, has acknowledged being disappointed that a better market didn't develop for him last summer. He said he has yet to seriously consider other teams that might be a fit for him.

"I'm sure new teams have popped up on the list," Mayo said. "I need to talk to my agent [Rob Pelinka] and see what we can work out."

Carlisle said he believes Mayo made major strides as an all-around player this season and could be a foundation piece for the Mavs.

"But like everything else in this world, this is probably going to come down to money," Carlisle said. "I don't know where all that stuff stands. He had a very good year for us, so there's going to be a lot of teams interested in him."

Carlisle harshly criticized Mayo after Monday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, saying Mayo "failed to compete" during a two-point, four-turnover outing against his former team. However, Carlisle made it clear Thursday that his positive feelings for Mayo have not changed.

"I love O.J. as a kid, as a person," Carlisle said. "I spent more time with him this year than probably any other player I've ever had. With him, I'm a little like a Little League dad. I want him to do well so badly that sometimes it gets the better of me. But that's OK, because if you care that much, it's never a bad thing."